For some off-road cyclists in and around south Arlington, the most reliable trails for a quick weekday ride do not officially exist.
The trails stem from city-sanctioned pathways in , and . Both sanctioned and unsanctioned trails wind through the Fannin Farms neighborhood, whose residents relish close contact with animals like bobcats, coyotes and peacocks.
For off-road bikers like Paul Hakes, the area is also a convenient space when rush hour makes the distance from other off-road trails seem greater.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good 30, 35 minutes to get to River Legacy (Park), and then you ride for an hour and a half, then you drive back. So now you鈥檙e gone for three hours,鈥� he said.
Fellow bikers in Fannin Farms showed Hakes the 鈥渟pider trails鈥� several years ago. Since then, he tries to spend 10 hours a month on trail maintenance, which can include clearing branches that could hit bikers, collecting trash and rerouting eroded trails.
鈥淲e made them so that you鈥檙e not getting face slappers,鈥� Hakes said, referring to outlying tree branches. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not getting a tree down across it. You鈥檙e not going to get hit by a branch.鈥�
Hakes and other cyclists have led multiple efforts to convince the city to recognize the mountain bike trails. Last year, he asked the city鈥檚 parks and recreation board for E911 signs: emergency signs that could help first responders find callers鈥� exact location.
鈥淚f somebody is back here by themselves, got hurt or lost, they couldn鈥檛 be found,鈥� he said.
However, bikers have not convinced residents in Fannin Farms, some of whom fought against the cyclists鈥� latest request. After soliciting community feedback, city officials have decided to put a different kind of sign in the park, one that warns unauthorized trail users to do so at their own risk.
Residents including Luke Anderson said bikers should not have asked for permission and recognition after illegally cutting down trees. Since 2020, he said, bikers have cut a trail that is yards away from his fence.
鈥淚f you buy your house next to an airport and then complain about the airport noise, that鈥檚 not genuine 鈥� that鈥檚 not an argument in good faith. But when you have something and then people come and put things in that鈥檚 unauthorized, that鈥檚 not OK,鈥� he said.
Hakes said he does not approve of other cyclists who have installed ramps and cut new trails, and that he has merely maintained already existing routes. He argued that recognition of the trails and a partnership with a bicycling organization would allow for more consistent maintenance and redirection from fence lines.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pretty close, but we鈥檙e forced to do that,鈥� Hakes said. 鈥淲e actually wanted to move it over, but we鈥檇 have to put a bridge in, and the city wouldn鈥檛 allow us to put a bridge in because it鈥檚 not an official trail.鈥�
Parks officials hear both sides
When Hakes and others first broached the issue in 2019, they asked for trail authorization. When he returned in 2023 to ask for emergency signs, Parks Director James Orloski decided to revive the authorization discussion.
Orloski said the city could have put up signs without authorizing the trail. However, to do so might imply the city maintains and recognizes the trails.
鈥淚f we go through and we put signage, that would potentially suggest that this is a sanctioned use and a sanctioned area with improved trails,鈥� he said.
After a public meeting 鈥� and emails that 四虎影院 obtained through a records request 鈥� the community remained divided over trail formalization.
A survey reported by Fannin Farms Homeowners Association Secretary Mark Whiting returned 18 residents in favor of trail formalization and 61 opposed.
Whiting outlined the issues neighbors reported in comments, including speeding cyclists, danger to pedestrians or pets and families with young children, to city council during an Aug. 27 meeting.
鈥淕enerally the problem in the neighborhood is that it鈥檚 a very narrow area. It鈥檚 very difficult to have the parking, to have the infrastructure and to be able to do all of this,鈥� he said.
Whiting did not respond to interview requests.
Anderson, who wrote an email of his own, said he would be more open to discussions with cyclists if they had not worked on trails without the city鈥檚 blessing in the first place. He recognizes the parks are city property 鈥� and loves that people use the trails 鈥� but said neither the park nor neighborhood were designed for off-road biking.
"There are areas that you could do this without disturbing residents, without disturbing people and nature. You could do this the right way. But I do not want to reward bad behavior,鈥� Anderson said.
Arlington City Council in August shelved the discussion.
Raul Gonzalez, the council member who represents southwest Arlington, said in addition to concerns about the trails鈥� implication for privacy and safety, he also worried the trails would impact traffic from out of the neighborhood.
鈥淲e really don't want any advertising whatsoever to bring people to this park because it wasn't made for that. It's a small little, you know, linear park. It's not like River Legacy,鈥� Gonzalez said.
Trail use
Off-road bikers represent a niche within the greater biking community, Hakes said. He argues the size and low difficulty of trails will never make F.J. 鈥淩ed鈥� Kane Park or surrounding natural areas a destination.
鈥淚 feel like they are taking the HOA as a higher percentage than the average citizen in the neighborhood,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople across the road, if they don鈥檛 mountain bike, they don鈥檛 know this even exists. And if they don鈥檛 have kids, they don鈥檛 even know this park exists.鈥�
For Cole Camp with the , the trails are a place to bring students for practice. The trail鈥檚 quick-draining soil makes it available sooner than other trails.
Camp said part of teaching students about mountain biking is to teach them to be good stewards.
鈥�We want to make sure that we're developing this and safe in very manageable ways that agree with that, agree with the environment without and without harming the environment,鈥� he said.
Asked about bikers鈥� stewardship along unauthorized trails, Orloski declined to comment. But he said he encourages people to pick up trash and keep natural spaces clean.
鈥淚 respect anybody that takes it upon themselves to help be a good steward of public spaces. But what I would say is I don't want people cutting down trees. I don't want people trimming trees,鈥� he said.
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